Visits with the Dursleys
by jooliahoolia
Summary: Dudley and Harry made up in Deathly Hallows, and it's safe to assume there was at least some contact after Voldemort's defeat. Here's a look at one of those visits between the Potter and Dursley families.


p class="p1"span class="s1"The house felt oddly empty with James and Al both off at Hogwarts. Lily had been sulking for days about the unfairness of being left all alone at home for emtwo whole more years/em, and Ginny was currently in Japan, covering an important Quidditch game for the emDaily Prophet/em. Hermione, Ron and Hugo were also traveling, though Harry couldn't remember where./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Dreading spending another night alone with his grumpy daughter, Harry bounded downstairs to Arthur Weasley's office at the end of his workday on Wednesday night./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Hey Arthur," said Harry, "you don't happen to have any cell phones down here, do you? I need to call my cousin and you know the Muggles have gotten rid of just about every pay phone in London by now."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Of course I've got some," Arthur responded. "Just let me make sure they're not cursed first. Old Willy Widdershins has been making a fortune selling exploding iPhones to unsuspecting Muggles on the black market."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Harry shook his head. "He's out there again? I feel like we keep locking him up, but every time I turn around he's been released for good behavior. I guess we haven't fixed all the corruption here just yet."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Arthur agreed and pulled an iPhone out of a pile nearby. He tapped it with his wand, muttering something under his breath, then handed it to Harry./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""There you go," he said. "It should work fine now, and feel free to keep it. Who knows when you'll need to call someone again."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Thanks for the fellytone, Arthur," Harry said, smiling at the memories of Arthur's bumbling half-knowledge of Muggle items. With the down-to-earth Grangers as his youngest son's in-laws, Arthur had finally learned how to correctly pronounce most of the Muggle phrases he had struggled with. He still maintained his childlike fascination with Muggle items, though, and led a team of younger witches and wizards who were just as fanatical as him./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Outside and away from the Ministry's magical interference, Harry dialed s familiar number. "Hey Dud," he said into the phone, slightly uncomfortable with the lack of a discernible mouthpiece,"It's Harry. You want to come over tonight? It's just me and Lily and we'd love some company."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"After calling out to his wife, Jennifer, Dudley agreed and then volunteered to bring dinner over at seven, whether out of genuine generosity or a fear that Harry couldn't cook, Harry wasn't sure. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"With that all straightened out, Harry ducked into a restroom at the subway station and used the privacy to apparate home. "Lily," he called, after hanging up his cloak, "we're having company for dinner, so I hope you're ready to be more pleasant."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Lily bounded down the stairs, grinning. "Are Hugo and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione coming?" she asked. Her face fell again as Harry replied./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""No, but Uncle Dudley, Aunt Jennifer, Lizbeth, Jessie and little Harry are," Harry responded. "And they'll be here any minute, so please do stop sulking and go set the table."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"With a final huff, Lily stalked off to set the table, just as the doorbell rang. Harry welcomed in his cousin, his wife and their children./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Dudley was just as large as he'd been as a child, but now they weight was mostly muscle, although he was beginning to develop a bit of a belly in the years since his wrestling days at uni. Jennifer was as tall and slender as she'd always been, though her brown hair was now streaked with grey. The kids were a motley combination of the two parents; Lizbeth, a scowling 15-year-old, had had Jennifer's soft brown hair before she cut it choppily and died it black in a fit of teenage pique, but she had her father's build. Jessie, eleven, a soccer player at her secondary school, resembled her mother more, though she had Dudley's blonde hair and rosy coloring. Two-year-old Harry, meanwhile, was nearly identical to Dudley at that age./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Harry and Dudley engaged in a manly handclasp, while Jennifer opted for a friendly smile. Little Harry, who was enamored with the tall man who shared his name, reached up for a hug./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Harry, where should I put this food?" asked Jennifer, holding up a steaming box of fish and chips./span/p  
p class="p2""Just out on the table. Let's all head that way; I think Lily's done setting it."/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"They all settled in for what was a largely uncomfortable meal. Nobody really talked except for Jennifer, who kept trying to make her daughters and Lily bond, and little Harry, but no one could understand what he was saying anyways. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"As dinner ended, Harry suggested that the kids all go play in the Potters' vast backyard. He, Dudley and Jennifer all sat quietly on the porch, while Lily tried to teach Jessie how to play Quidditch, Jessie tried to teach Lily how to play soccer, little Harry got in everyone's way and Lizbeth sat moodily under a tree./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"About an hour later, even though no actual conversation had taken place, Jennifer apologized and said that they must take off, since her kids had school in the morning. Harry and Lily waved from the door as they drove off, than walked back inside. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""You should probably be getting to bed soon too, Lils," said Harry./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Okay, Daddy," she said, reaching up to give him a goodnight hug and kiss. "Only one thing," Lily whispered. "Can we wait a while before Uncle Dudley's family comes again? They're not that fun."/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Harry shot her a mock-stern look. "Now, Lily, is that a nice thing to say? But we probably won't see them for a while. You'll see mum tomorrow though. Now, off to bed with you!" /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Lily ran up the stairs, while Harry reflected in the living room. How would he ever explain to his children what it meant to see Dudley, to know that he had some family that actually wanted to talk...well, maybe not talk, but still...to him? /span/p  
p class="p2" /p 


End file.
